Just Another Romance Novel
by E. M. Zeray
Summary: AU, Romance, Percabeth. Percy Jackson's father owns the sea. Annabeth Chase is the most successful architect of her generation. When their lives collide, everybody thinks it's just going to be another romance novel. So why does it feel like so much more?
1. Nice to Meet You

**A/N: Here's a longer version of the summary: Percy Jackson's father owns the sea. Annabeth Chase is a highly successful architect. Percy's been named the Sexiest Man Alive, and Annabeth is an Elite New Yorker. But when Annabeth is asked to design the new HQ for Poseidon Enterprises, they're lives clash and two people who only ever mingled on the same page of the gossip columns are suddenly sharing dinner…with candles… But is this the picture perfect romance that they think it is? Romance, AU, please review!**

**I don't normally like the idea of AU fics unless they're well written, and so I hope I don't become a hypocrite when this is done XD**

**Please R&R.**

Percy sipped at his beer casually as he watched the beautiful blonde across the club raise her martini glass to her lips while she chatted with a dark-haired man. She had arrived with him—Percy had noticed—but they weren't holding hands, kissing… Was he gay or blind? This girl was absolutely gorgeous and the man had to be out of his mind to not have his hands all over her.

He didn't normally just jump right up and say hello to women. He might ask one to dance, buy them a drink and ask for an occasional number, but walking straight up and introducing himself…well, that normally ended badly.

He shrugged to himself as he continued to watch the blonde. She emptied her glass and walked back to the bar with the man. They spoke casually with Tyler, the bartender, and a few minutes later, they had fresh drinks. Percy beckoned the bartender over.

"What's up, Perce?"

"Who's she?"

Tyler arched an eyebrow. "Annabeth Chase, the architect? Jeez, what rock have you been living under? She's the youngest, most successful building designer in the state."

"And the dude?"

Tyler shrugged at this. "Friend, I assume. She bought the drinks, said they were celebrating. Maybe he's her secretary."

Percy nodded. "Thanks."

"Um, Percy, I'm just warning you, she's been in here a few times before, and she doesn't take so kindly to getting hit on."

As he finished the last sip of his beer, Percy stood and took out the cash to pay Tyler. "That's why I'm not gonna hit on her." He slid an extra twenty into Tyler's hand. "Her next two drinks are on me. If she asks, give her this." He handed him his business card—or his father's actually—and winked.

Tyler laughed. "Smooth. Playing the 'I'm rich, let me take you home,' card."

"Not tonight. I'll be back on Friday." And with that, he was gone.

Percy Jackson made it four steps out the door before his picture was taken. He nodded at the cameraman who seemed disappointed that he was leaving alone. Percy smirked and kept walking, more cameras going off behind him. It was a pretty elite club and some of New York's finest partied there. He was included in the group.

His father was one of the wealthiest investors in nautical engineering. He owned so many ships and submarines that Percy hadn't bothered to keep counting after they got into triple digits. He would send birthday and Christmas cards and they shared a bank account so Percy would never run out of money, and they even saw each other once in a while, but he only had a small Manhattan office with no real Headquarters. There were rumors that he lived under the sea. His nickname, Poseidon, thanks to the company name,

A billionaire at 24, Percy didn't work and spent most of his nights out with his friends or watching movies in his loft. That's not to say he spent all of his time alone or with friends. He'd had his fair share of girlfriends, but just last week, his most recent one was caught getting down and dirty with another guy. The press had had a field day and he had left her. His heart was damaged, sure, but that's why he had decided to go out tonight—to see who was out there. And there she was.

Annabeth Chase.

When he got back to his loft, he sat down with his laptop and pulled up a search engine. Sample headlines read, "Chase Rebuilds Mason's Mansion," "New Architect on the Rise," and "Chase's Boyfriend Wants a Piece of Her Success." The last one sounded the most interesting and so he clicked. The link led him to a page with the blaring title, "New York: The Elite."

The article was about how Annabeth had had a boyfriend named Luke who had cheated her out of nearly a quarter million dollars. They were split and he went to jail for a number of months. Percy noted that the article was from a year ago and if he did the math correctly—because how hard was it to add a year?—they were the same age.

He closed the window and stripped for bed, subconsciously wondering what exactly it was about this woman that intrigued him so. He supposed that if she were to show next Friday, he might get a chance to find out.

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Tyler handed her the fresh martini as soon as she had downed her last. "Compliments of the man at the bar in the blue shirt."

Annabeth looked and saw the man leaving without a second glance back to see if she thanked him for the drink. Which she probably would have. He had dark hair and was very tall. He was gracefully, but as he pulled on his jacket halfway out the door, she could tell he had muscles. He was dressed nicely. Armani. But he was gone a second later.

"Thanks, Tyler. Who is he?"

Tyler grinned. "He told me to give you this." He offered her the blue business card and saw her eyes widen as she read it.

"That's not…" She hesitated and turned to her companion. "Nico…" She showed him the business card and he gave a low whistle. "What does Perseus Jackson want with me?"

"Probably a shag," Nico said, smiling into his drink.

"When did you become British?"

He shrugged. "Trying it out. Sounds a bit classier than 'screw,' in my opinion."

"Thanks again, Tyler."

"Sure thing. By the way, he said he'll be back on Friday." And with that, Tyler was off to the other end of the bar.

Annabeth stared at the business card and the bright blue letters, "Poseidon Enterprises: We Rule the Sea." She tucked it into her purse and sipped her martini, wondering if Percy Jackson was actually as cute in person as he was on the cover of "People."

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Sure enough, he was there that Friday night. She noticed him the second he walked in. With a hand reaching up to make sure her hair was in place, she strode towards him and reached him just as he reached the bar. He looked up at her.

"Something I can help you with, beautiful?"

She stuck out her hand. "Annabeth Chase."

"Percy Jackson."

They shook.

"I know," she said. "I saw you on 'People' last week."

He grinned. "I am the Sexiest Man Alive."

Annabeth admired his charm and smiled as they pulled their hands back. "I wanted to thank you for the drink last week. It was sweet."

"Darn, and I was going for something more along the lines of…amazing." He gestured to the stool next to him. "Sit."

"It's okay, I won't be staying. I just wanted to introduce myself."

"Miss Chase, I insist. Let me buy you a drink. I won't take no for an answer."

His steamy stare made her think that he wasn't used to 'no's. She sat, crossing her legs—an action which was always a fail-safe flirtation device when she was wearing high heels and a skirt/dress—but he didn't once glance at them and always kept his eyes on hers for the duration of their conversation.

"I'm afraid I'm not too familiar with your work."

Annabeth smiled. "I suppose I'll forgive you for that if you buy me another drink."

They drank and chatted. Percy asked about the man he had seen her with last week and she had explained that her best friend and assistant, Nico di Angelo, and herself had closed a multi-million dollar deal and were out celebrating a job well done.

So, not her boyfriend, Percy mused silently. Good.

Sometime later, when most conversation had found its way out the window, Percy took her hand and leaned in, whispering, "Would you like to dance?"

She nodded and they moved onto the dance floor silently. He held her close as the music swept through both of them and Annabeth linked her wrists behind his neck, tingles shooting through her when his hands settled innocently on her hips. A few songs later, they found their way back to the bar and Percy smiled.

"I suppose I'll see you again?" she muttered when he whispered a goodbye.

He winked. "If you look hard enough."

**A/N: The story actually starts in the next chapter but I'd really some feedback. I'm not feeling too confident with this story and so if you're still interested in reading it—it's a total hardcore romance novel, just with Percy and Annabeth—please let me know. I hope the summary gave you a clue to what's it's all gonna be about, so let me know!**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	2. Oh Well, Hi

**A/N: Thank you to all of you who reviewed. Personal messages are at the bottom so as to not stop you from reading the second chapter immediately:) **

"And this is my son, Perseus."

Percy looked up from his iPhone and smiled across the table. His father had asked him to come to a business meeting with his investors, but he was currently texting Annabeth under the table. So far, his message read: Meet me for dinner tonight? He was just about to send it when his dad mentioned him.

"It has come to my attention that Perseus hasn't really been doing anything the company," his father said light-heartedly, and added, "so I've decided to make him an ambassador to my clients and the people and companies associated with us so that he can be more involved. Now, we've talked about moving our headquarters deeper into the city, preferably near the Empire State Building—"

He trailed off and Percy focused back on his phone. He hit "send."

As Percy was leaving the conference, his dad stopped him. "Percy, I'm arranging a meeting between you and a potential architect for the new project. I'll let you know when the date is set, but don't make any plans for next week."

Percy nodded, sighing inwardly. "Sure thing."

"Thanks."

They left the conference room and his dad went back to his office as Percy walked towards the elevator. His phone rang half way there.

"Jackson."

"What's with this texting business? If you wanna ask me out, do it."

He grinned. "Alright, then. Would you like to go out with me?" he asked as he pressed the button for the first floor.

The doors slid closed. "When?"

"How about tonight?"

"I've got plans."

"You're not planning on making this easy on me, are you?"

He could practically feel her evil smile through the phone. "Nope."

"Alright then. How about lunch tomorrow?"

"I'll check my schedule."

He smirked and exited the elevator. "How about you call me tonight to let me know?"

"Mm, I suppose that could work."

"Good. I'll talk to you then."

"Bye."

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He set down his bourbon and paused the TV when the doorbell rang. He pulled open the door and arched an eyebrow at the girl at the door.

"Turned out I didn't have plans after all," she said, smiling.

"Fancy that."

"Did I interrupt anything?"

He shook his head no. "Reruns and bourbon. Care to join me?"

"Yes, please."

He held the door open for her and watched her as she walked into the large room and to the couch, setting down her bag and taking off her jacket. Percy closed the door and sauntered back over to her, leaning against the back of the couch.

"What brings you to my place?"

"Well, you asked me out."

"And you shot me down."

She rolled her eyes. "I thought I had plans."

Percy held her chin, forcing her to meet his eyes. "You knew you didn't have plans. You knew you were going to see me tonight."

She smirked. "I always have a plan."

"Part of your job, I assume?"

She shrugged and ran her eyes down what she could see of him. She had to admit, he was very attractive and he smelled like a mixture of bourbon and peppermint.

"Would it be too forward of me to kiss you right now?" he asked, transforming the hold on her chin into more of an intimate gesture, stroking her cheek with him thumb before ducking his hand behind her head to support her neck.

"Probably."

He hesitated a moment, thinking about it, and then dropped his hand. Right when he was about to turn to walk around the couch, Annabeth grabbed the front of his shirt in a fist and pulled him against her, reaching on her tiptoes to kiss him.

After a moment of the deliriously wonderful kiss, Percy pulled back, placing his hands on her waist.

"What was that for?"

"I just said it was forward, not that I didn't want you to."

Smiling, he swooped in for another kiss.

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"The architect is meeting you for lunch at Chandler's today, okay, Percy?" his father asked him over the phone the next morning. "One o'clock. Please don't be late."

"Reservation?"

"Of course."

"Got it."

He hung up and glanced at his watch. He had two hours. Rolling out of bed, he jumped into the shower and let his thoughts drift to the night before.

Annabeth had stayed watching crappy TV with him until about midnight and when he kissed her goodbye, it felt like his brain was melting right through his body. God, but she was gorgeous. And perfect. And…everything. He didn't know how he was going to be able to keep his mind focused on this meeting.

When he emerged from the shower he grabbed his cell and dialed his dad's assistant.

"Percy, you realize that your number comes up as 'Boss' Kid' on my caller ID, right?"

"Yeah, I know. I changed it last time I saw you."

"What do you need?"

"Is it awkward if I ask you to send a dozen roses to someone for me?"

She hesitated. "Uh, no, not at all. Who?"

"Annabeth Chase."

"Address?"

He told her the address and thanked her before disconnecting. It was almost time for his meeting.

Every since he was a kid, he'd loved Chandler's. It wasn't too high class; it had a great bar, great people, great food. A place like that that also had reasonable prices was hard to find in New York. But then again, being the son of a billionaire, Percy wasn't sure he knew what reasonable prices were.

He arrived at 12:50 and the waitress took him to his table.

He spent the next ten minutes checking emails before the sound of high heels approaching his table made him look up.

"Percy?"

His jaw dropped. "Oh. Well, hi, Annabeth."

**A/N: This is pretty short, sorry. The story will get more developed as we go along. Nico, Luke, and more characters come into play and a potential relationship will come to a rocky start, but we'll see;)**

**Emothgurl: I might consider it. It's definitely a Percabeth fic, but little side relationships are never out the question. It's a very high possibility.**

**Storyteller1425: Thank you so much for your kind words and uber long review:) I'm so glad you like my writing. I know this definitely isn't one of my best, but the beginning is kind of shaky thanks to the new ideas and I will most likely go back and edit when it's all done.**

**Mulligatawny: I was really nervous about writing Percy in such an OOC way—yes, I totally recognize that the real Percy would never be so upfront with a girl he potentially liked and would totally skirt around it and she would have to make the first move, but since it's AU, I thought it might be cool for him to take the lead. He might end up going back to the original later in the story.**

**Thank you all so much for your reviews and I hope you liked the new chapter. 3****rd**** will be up soon!**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	3. Father, Mother

**A/N: Wow, this took longer than I expected. All of your reviews were so loved and appreciated and I hope you like the new chapter.**

Annabeth looked extremely professional. Her hair was tied back in a bun, she was wearing a black pencil skirt with a pretty raspberry colored blouse tucked into it and a jacket that matched the skirt. He snuck a peak at her perfect legs and the black Prada heels on her feet. Nice.

"You're the client who wants me to tear down that old dive so he can build a glorious HQ?" she asked as she sat.

"Well, actually, that's my dad and he wanted me to meet with the architect. Which I'm guessing would be you."

"I'm astounded by your observational skills. So, you gonna buy me lunch?"

"That depends. Is this a business meeting or a date?"

She arched an eyebrow. "I don't go on dates with clients."

"I'm not the client."

"Percy…"

"Don't tell me you didn't wake up thinking about last night."

She blushed. "Let's not talk about last night. This is a business meeting. I shouldn't have even met you yet."

"Right, of course." He sat up straight and offered his hand. "Hello, Miss Chase. My name is Percy Jackson."

"Hello, Mr. Jackson." She reached her hand out to shake and when she did, he held it firmly, lifting it to his lips.

"Call me Percy."

She swallowed tightly. "Percy."

He grinned. "Now, what do you say we get down to business?"

"I couldn't agree more." She took her hand back from his grasp and took out a binder from her handbag/briefcase thing.

They discussed the building and Percy took notes on his iPhone, planning to speak with his father about it whenever possible. They talked about location and size, needs for the building, how many conference rooms, space of offices, etc. Annabeth explained that her staff included a tech expert that could help his father out with smart boards for meetings and new projectors, more capable computers and the like.

They ate and lingered around the table after all the dishes had been cleared and still hadn't run out of things to talk about. They were jotting things down—Annabeth in her notebook, Percy on his phone—and talking about so many different things that it seemed hard to keep track of. And then, suddenly, all conversation stopped.

Percy looked up from his phone; she looked up from her paper.

"So, should we schedule a follow up meeting or should I email you?" Annabeth asked, slipping her notebook back into her bag.

"I'll call you after I talk to my dad and we can meet for dinner."

She smiled softly.

"I'll cook."

"You can cook?"

"Well, I'm not terrible at it."

"Alright then." With a teasing smile, she stood. "It's a date."

As she headed for the door, Percy smiled to himself. "Yes, it is."

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"How did the meeting go?" his father asked him over lunch the next day.

Percy smiled. "It went well. We discussed price range and details and I informed her of the notes you gave me, so I think one more meeting will be sufficient to hash out all the details."

His father nodded. "I'd like to keep track of the project, though. You will meet with the architect… Miss Chase, I believe her name was, every once in a while, make sure she's doing things our way."

Percy nodded. "Okay."

"When is your next appointment scheduled for?"

"I told her that I had to talk to you first."

"Whenever convenient, speak with her and schedule another meeting. Preferably within the next week."

"Any reason for the time slot?"

"I'm sending you across the pond for a chat with our international investors. France, Greece, Britain, Italy… Your plane takes off next Tuesday."

He nodded, although he couldn't help but feel slightly disappointed. "Alright."

"Something the matter?"

"No, of course not."

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"'Athena and Co.: The Wise Decision.'" Annabeth sighed. "Mother, really?"

The woman across the room smirked and took a seat in front of her daughter's desk. "We needed a new catch phrase anyway. Don't want that damned Poseidon Enterprises getting ahead of us because he thinks he's the king of the ocean do we?"

Annabeth kneaded her temples. "Mother…"

"And that son of his, Perseus. My god, he's not acting like a business man! He's out every night at bars and clubs, getting into magazines." She rolled her eyes. "Did you see him on the cover of 'People' last month?" She scowled. "I much prefer Patrick Dempsey."

"Mother…"

"And please, darling, we're already beating him anyway. We do more business overseas than he does. We've got Athens wrapped around our little finger." She gave a little laugh. "What were you saying, darling?"

Annabeth paused, not sure how to go about this. "Well…I just thought you should know, before you find out from someone else… I'm working with them."

Her mother arched an eyebrow. "With who?"

"Poseidon Enterprises. I'm designing their new headquarters."

She scowled. "Why would you be doing that?"

"Because it pays well."

"Honestly, Annabeth, what will people think when they hear that my daughter is fraternizing with the enemy? I'll be ruined!"

"I don't work for you, Mother. I have my own business. I'm in no way involved with your company. I can work with whomever I want and will." She turned furiously towards her computer and began typing.

Slightly perturbed, her mother stood from her chair and made towards the door.

"And for your information," Annabeth added as she was halfway out the door, "Percy is much more attractive than Dr. McDreamy."

**A/N: I've been reading a lot of Harry Potter and hanging out with my friend who moved here from Britain, so I've been writing this in a British accent and had to erase words like "bloody" and "barmy" a couple times… Sigh…**

**Please review.**

**Love always,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	4. Dinner For Two

Insane, he was. He was going insane over a pretty little blonde thing with grey eyes. What other explanation was there for the fact that he had tried on four different outfit options before being ready to call her and ask that she join him for dinner tonight? It had to be tonight so that they could speak before he left.

After speaking with investors in Paris, he would go to London, then Athens, etc. And so they would have to meet immediately to go over the details of the project.

Little miracles.

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Insane, she was. She was going insane over a gorgeous, dark-haired man with sea-green eyes that she could just fall into. What other explanation was there for the fact that she had nearly melted with relief when he called to schedule their meeting? It was almost 5 o'clock at night and she was still in her work clothes, so she scrambled to the shower, and promised him she'd be at his door before 7.

When she emerged from the shower, she skimmed her closet and removed a gorgeous LBD from two years ago. It must still fit her. But, while this dress was definitely flattering, it was certainly not something a person wore to a business meeting, especially since it required tiny lingerie to prevent panty lines.

She smiled to herself. Well…

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He thought it was better to go casual this evening as he stared at his reflection. He was wearing dark jeans and a blue T-shirt that hugged his muscles very, very nicely if he said so himself. He checked the oven and then moved to the dining room where he had set two places, one at the head of the table, the other just to the right of it, and lit the candles in the middle of the table. He switched on the radio and smiled.

He dared Miss Chase to resist him tonight.

He grinned when the doorbell rang and had to stop from sprinting to the door. Why in the world was he so excited to see this girl?

When he opened the door, his grin grew.

_Business dinner, my foot._

She was wearing a black dress—strapless—that accented every curve and only went down to the middle of her thigh. Her hair was twisted up elegantly and her eyes were accented by smoky makeup. Her lips were a brilliant shade of red.

"Wow, Annabeth. You look… Wow."

"Thanks," she said, smiling softly. He invited her in, offered her a glass of wine, which she graciously accepted.

"So, I met with my father," he told her as he led her towards the dining room.

"Oh?"

"And basically, everything we discussed sounds good. We'll have to arrange a few more meeting when I get back, but otherwise—"

"When you get back?"

He nodded. "I'm going to Paris tomorrow afternoon."

She arched an eyebrow. "Oh."

"I'll be gone for a month."

She frowned. "Percy—"

He put a finger to her lips and smiled at her before running his eyes over her. "You certainly dressed up for this occasion," he muttered, trying to change the subject.

She pushed his hand away and stared up at him. "A month, Percy?"

"It'll go by like no time at all," he said, pulling her close. He kissed her once, softly. "I promise. Besides, you have no obligation to worry about me or miss me."

"Really?"

He nodded and took a sip of his wine. "Only girlfriends have to do that."

"Quite right," she agreed, trying to hide her smirk as she caught onto his game.

"And we're not dating, are we?"

"Oh, no, of course not. I don't date clients."

He sighed and opened his mouth to argue with her instinctually, but caught himself before he did. "I suppose that's a good rule. Getting involved with people you work with doesn't work out so well sometimes."

"Exactly." She stepped out of his embrace and took a nonchalant sip of her wine.

"But suppose I were to make the argument that I'm not your client…"

"Yes?"

"And suppose that I'd quite like it if you were to miss me while I was gone…"

"Uh huh?"

He smirked. "You're gonna make me say it, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah."

"How'd you like to be my girlfriend?"

"Why am I flashing back to 9th grade?" she teased. When he opened his mouth to respond, no doubt with some rude remark, she rose on her tiptoes and silenced him with a long kiss. When they broke apart, she whispered, "Yes."

"Good. I'd hate to think you kiss all of your business partners like this."

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After dinner, they remained at the table, talking. After about twenty minutes of the conversation, though, Percy leaned in and kissed her again, unable to control his desire as he watched her beautiful lips move.

"Would it be too forward of me to ask if you'd like to see the rest of my loft?"

Annabeth hesitated. Percy met gaze. "You're leaving in the morning, aren't you?" she asked.

He nodded.

"So perhaps it's best if I don't spend the night tonight."

He smirked. "I wasn't asking if you'd like to go to bed with me, Annabeth. I was thinking more along the lines of the entertainment room. I picked out a few films."

With new color to her cheeks, she nodded and he showed her to the room before sitting on the couch.

It was halfway through the film when he looked down at her and felt a pang of fear grab at his insides. He was falling for her. Hard.

**A/N: Two chapters in a night? What? I'm on fire! Not literally, of course. Anyway, thanks for reading, please review.**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	5. Flowers

**A/N: ENJOY—this is their first week apart. The next chapter will be Percy's last week overseas, meaning he'll be in Athens where more of the plot develops, and the one after that, he'll be home. Thank you all so much for your amazing feedback. It's been a tough week and you guys are lifting my spirits. **

**Unfortunately, this is a very short chapter, but I felt the need to get it out there immediately instead of adding on to make it longer. Let me know what you think.**

Annabeth rolled over in her bed and stared at the other side, the empty side with the untouched pillow. She'd had her fair share of relationships, each one of them—not including the ones in high school—long enough and serious enough to warrant sexual intimacy, and yet, she had never been too keen on sharing a bed with another human being for actual sleep. She liked her space. But still, the thought of that billionaire with dark hair that desperately needed a trim taking up that space on the other side of her bed… It was appealing.

She closed her eyes and sighed. There was a cure for this. She just needed to go out and lay eyes on a more attractive man and everything would be better. Too bad she wasn't sure there was anyone in the world, much less in New York, that was more intoxicating and desirable than Perseus Jackson.

And dammit, but she missed him. She'd known the man for a little over a week and she was already salivating over seeing him again.

Sighing, she pushed the covers back and padded barefoot into her kitchen for coffee. Halfway there, the doorbell rang.

"What the…"

When she opened the door and put a hand on her hip, she was ready to scold whoever was at the door for calling at 9:30 in the morning, but then she saw that the man at the door was wearing a blue uniform and was holding a very large bouquet of flowers. She noted that they weren't the traditional roses and smirked. He was changing things up since his last gift.

"Annabeth Chase?" he asked.

"Um, yeah."

"These are for you."

She opened the door a bit wider. "Come in, please."

The man entered the threshold and placed the vase on the table by the door, next to the bowl for her keys and mail.

"I believe there's a note in the flowers, miss."

She was about to reach for her wallet to tip him—also by the table—but he smiled and told her that had been taken care of as well.

"Thank you," she called as he closed the door behind him.

As she plucked the note from the bouquet, her heart drummed. He'd sent her flowers. What would they say? "Thinking of you"? "Missing you"? "Wishing you were here"?

She opened the little note and, as she looked at the utterly familiar handwriting, her gut clenched. Without a word, she picked up the vase, walked towards her bedroom and outside to the balcony before dumping the pretty flowers onto the street and taking the vase back inside her loft. She'd give it to her mother on her birthday.

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Percy was anxious. He couldn't stop thinking about Annabeth. What the hell was wrong with him? He was supposed to be working. He was having two or three meetings a day and then crashing when he got back to his hotel. He couldn't afford to be thinking about Annabeth all the time. And still, he was.

"_Monsieur_?"

Percy looked up from his phone where a pretty little French waitress was waiting to take his order.

"_Le croissant et le café, s'il vous plait_," he said, ordering coffee and a croissant.

She ran her eyes over him and smiled before nodding and ducking back into the café.

He sent his father a quick email with updates and was about to text Annabeth when the waitress returned with his breakfast.

"_Puis-je recevoir le chèque, s'il vous plait_?" he muttered, requesting the check.

She nodded and Percy typed out a short message before pressing "send." She returned, dropped the check off and Percy opened the little black folder to see her number scrawled at the bottom.

As he was leaving the café, he smiled and cockily told her, "_J'ai une petite amie_."

Because it was finally true. He had a girlfriend.

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"I hope you die a painful and horrible death," Annabeth muttered under her breath to the flowers as she tossed the newest batch into the trash can. "You no good, dirty, rotten, piece of slime."

She scowled at the card before ripping it into pieces and tossing it into the trash as well. It was a shame that the vases were so pretty. She would have loved to shatter them and pretend they were his skull.

The arrogance, the nerve of him sending her flowers after everything he'd done. No, there was no way in hell she was forgiving him. He could send her every flower in New York and she would still never agree to meet up with him again. She'd learned her lesson. She was never getting near Luke Castellan again.

**A/N: :) muahahahahahhaha! **

**You know you love me and I promise to update soon.**

**Love always,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	6. Battle on the Home Front

**A/N: My Christmas present to you guys: Percabeth fluff…with a cliffhanger;)**

Two more days. In 48 hours, he'd be back on his private jet and on his way home. He'd stayed up late on the phone last night with Annabeth—it had been the first time he'd had enough time to talk to her and had accidentally woke her up because he forgot about the time difference. But they talked for nearly two hours before he had to get to bed.

After his meeting in Athens, where he had spent a very long time trying to explain why Poseidon Enterprises was a better choice to invest in than Athena and Co. and accepted most investors' decision that they would have to think about it, Percy couldn't help but feel a little defeated. That company had been catching up to his father's business and it seemed that no matter what they did to stay on top, Athena and Co. was building.

He glanced at his watch as he settled into bed that night. He was counting down the minutes…

0000000000

He took a deep breath before knocking on her door.

"Alright, the next time—oh, hi, Percy. Percy!" She launched herself into his arms and he laughed as he hugged her tightly. "Oh, I missed you."

He pulled back slightly and looked down at her. "I knew you would."

She rolled her eyes. "When did you get back?"

"Twenty minutes ago. I drove straight here. I'm taking you out to dinner."

"Where?"

He rested his forehead against hers and placed a little kiss on the tip of her nose. "It's a surprise."

"Do I need to put on a dress for this surprise?"

He glanced at her jeans and T-shirt and smiled. "Definitely. Something blue."

She arched an eyebrow and left his arms to walk back into her loft, but Percy grabbed her wrist, pulling her back. "What?"

"I haven't seen my girlfriend in a month. I think I deserve a kiss."

Annabeth rose on her tiptoes and leaned in closely, but right before their lips touched, she smirked and whispered, "You missed me too." And she ducked out of his grasp and towards her bedroom.

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After a night at the Dalton, the swankiest hotel in NY where they had a four star meal, and a trip around the city in Percy's limo, Annabeth was leaning against Percy's shoulder as he walked her back to her door. He laughed as she stumbled sleepily.

She reached for her door, but he held her in his arms so she was staring up at him, her arms winding lazily around his waist.

She looked utterly gorgeous in her knee-length strapless blue dress. Her hair was styled with elegance and her skin looked like cream and was smooth to the touch.

"I really did miss you," Percy told her.

Her smile brought warmth to his heart. "I know."

"I missed you a surprising amount, actually."

"Oh, really?"

"I'm not used to feeling like this."

"Like what?"

"Like I might go insane if I don't see you again tomorrow."

She moved her arms to around his neck and pulled him down, their lips a hands length apart. "Well, we do have to schedule a meeting for—"

Realizing that she was going towards work talk, he silenced her with his lips. While surprised, Annabeth let her lips part and the kiss progressed easily. They held each other tightly and soon Annabeth was gasping for breath.

"Percy," she sighed as his lips moved to her neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" he asked, pulling back.

"Definitely."

He kissed her forehead. "I'll call you."

She hesitantly stepped away from his arms and said, "Goodnight," right before she closed the door on him.

"Goodnight."

0000000000

Annabeth rolled over at 5:30 and stared at the glass doors leading to the balcony. The moonlight had been too gorgeous the evening before to close the curtains.

She hurried through her morning routine and arrived at work early, catching up on a few emails while she waited for people to get it. Nico showed up eventually with coffee and they went over notes and blueprints while drinking.

The day passed surprisingly smoothly. Until she was about to leave.

Nico knocked on her office door with a grimace. "Um, Annabeth?"

She arched an eyebrow. "Yeah?"

"You know how you were telling me that the flowers finally stopping coming?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, they haven't." He stepped back and a man in the familiar blue uniform stepped into her office, setting a vase of red roses on her desk.

Nico waved away the delivery man and he and Annabeth huddled over the flowers to look at the note.

"Are they from him?" Nico asked.

"I'm checking." She plucked the note from the plastic clasp between the roses and skimmed it. "Yeah, they're from Luke. He…he wants me to meet him at our old spot tonight."

"Are you going?"

She glared at him. "When hell freezes over, di Angelo."

0000000000

"Human Resources sent you up, did they?" Poseidon asked, looking through the man's resume.

"Yes, sir. I think you'll find me perfectly qualified."

He glanced up at the blonde man in front of him. Well, he really did need another assistant. Juniper, his current one, was never very good at doing things away from the office. She was like a potted plant in the office, always chained to her desk. From the look of his resume, he could certainly handle files and coffee and meetings with investors. He might even be able to help Percy.

"You used to work for Hermes Delivery?"

The man nodded. "For the last couple years, but the boss…well, we had a falling out. But don't underestimate my professional abilities. I'm perfectly capable of remaining professional whilst at the office."

Poseidon nodded. "I'm prepared to hire you under two conditions."

"Yes, sir?"

"One, you take your position seriously. My company is important. You and my other assistant, Juniper, will be handling many important meetings, gathering information about any number of things, and you answer directly to either me or my son, Perseus."

The man looked surprised. "I wasn't aware that your son was involved in the company."

"You and everyone else. But he is. We need a famous face promoting us."

"Of course, sir." He paused. "And the other condition?"

"You start straight away."

The blonde smiled. "Absolutely."

"Good. Talk to Juniper. She'll show you everything you need. Welcome to Poseidon Enterprises, Mr. Castellan."

**A/N: Please review! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and have an excellent New Year. **

**Love forever,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	7. People

**A/N: Out of procrastination comes inspiration. I'm avoiding doing my homework, so here is another chapter. Enjoy. Not a whole lot of plot development in this one, it's mostly a filler, but we see a sneak peak of what will come. Hint: it's meshed into Poseidon and Percy's conversation.**

"Do you wanna go dancing?" Percy asked from outside Annabeth's bathroom as she finished retouching her makeup. She exited the room and Percy scrunched his eyebrows.

"What? Too much?"

"You look pretty without it."

She rolled her eyes. "Come on. You were saying something about dancing?"

"Oh, well, yeah," he began as they moved towards the door, "I know this great place where we could go, but another night. I have something else planned tonight."

"Good, because I'm not dressed for dancing."

He skimmed her outfit and smiled. She was wearing black jeans that hugged her hips perfectly, ankle boots, and a wine red blouse that was very obviously made of silk. "Come on, gorgeous. Let's go before I'm tempted to keep you locked up in here, all to myself."

"From the look on your face, you've already been tempted."

"Don't push it."

0000000000

It had been two days since she'd last seen Percy. He had been busy with work and his father's new assistant, some guy who was, according to Percy, extremely rigid and professional. And while she understood that he had an obligation now to his dad, she really, really missed him.

The doorbell rang and Annabeth stood from the counter to stare out the peephole. When she saw nobody, she opened the door. Her mail was sitting sprawled across her non-existent welcome mat.

She bypassed bills and other junk and smiled when she reached the new issue of "People." She wasn't smiling for long.

In the top right hand corner, there was a picture of her and Percy walking hand and hand. She examined her outfit in the photo. Two nights ago. When they went to Broadway. She did a mental facepalm and read the headline.

"Are Two New York Elites Getting Cozy Under City Lights?"

Oh, hell.

When she flipped to the page, it showed multiple photos of their date, including a shot of them at dinner, where they were leaning so incredibly close to each other that they might as well have been kissing.

Damn, her mother was going to flip when she saw this.

0000000000

"What the hell is this, Percy?"

He looked across the desk at his father and then down at the magazine the older man had just dropped. "The new issue of 'People.'"

"Perseus. Is this true?"

"Well…"

"Were you aware that her mom's Athena?"

Percy paused. "What?"

"I didn't know either until I read the article. It's bad enough that you're dating someone you work with, Percy, but the fact that she's the daughter of my enemy?"

"Well what does it matter?"

"Percy, don't you see? She knows things about us now. She could be reporting back to her mother. End the relationship, son. Before you both get hurt."

"Dad…"

"Or you can do some spying of your own."

Percy furrowed his brow. "Is that what you think she's doing? Spying on my work?"

"It just makes sense. I'm sorry to be the one to point it out, but her mother and I are competitors and Miss Chase seems like the type of girl to believe that blood is thicker than water."

"She's not spying. We don't even talk about work when we go out. All of our meetings were about the building and nothing more." He ran a hand through his hair and met his father's gaze. "I'm not ending it with her. I really like her."

Poseidon sighed, leaning back in his chair. His expression softened. "Fine. She is the best architect around so we need her for the project anyway. But you're done meeting with her." Percy opened his mouth to argue and his father held up a hand. "No. That's final. I'll send my new assistant. You'll tell me the next time she contacts you about a meeting?"

Seeing no other way around it, Percy nodded. He stood to leave but his father's voice stopped him.

"And Percy, if it does turn out that she's spying on us, I trust you'll know what to do?"

"End the relationship."

"Spy right back."

Percy left the office with a word and Poseidon called Luke in. The blonde man entered immediately.

"Yes, sir?"

"Dispose of this for me, please?" he asked, holding out the magazine by his fingertips as if it were a dirty diaper.

Luke nodded and snatched up the magazine.

"And also, Luke, Percy will be handing over responsibilities of meeting with the architect to you."

"Of course, sir."

"You may go."

He closed the door behind him on the way out. At his desk, he was just about to throw away the magazine when he noticed the top right corner and froze.

Oh, his day kept getting better and better.

0000000000

"Did you see it?"

Annabeth sighed. "Who didn't?"

On the other end of the line, Percy was quiet, considering thoughts. "My dad's upset."

"Oh? Because you're involved with his architect?"

"Because you're the daughter of his competitor."

Annabeth paused. "Oh, um…"

"Yeah, thanks for telling me, by the way."

"I told you that my past with my parents was sensitive, that my dad and stepmom didn't really like me; that my real mom is too busy to actually spend quality time with me, and you told me I didn't have to talk about it."

"I know, I know. I just…I wish I'd known."

Annabeth stood from her kitchen counter and began pacing her loft. "My mom told me to end it."

"So did my dad."

"I told her no."

"Me too."

She made her way into her bathroom and checked her reflection as she said, "So how does this work now?"

"My dad pulled me off of the new building project."

"Do I get a new liaison?"

"I'll set you up with the new guy, just promise me that you won't let him take you to dinner."

She smiled. "Jealous?"

"Extremely."

"I promise I won't go out with him," she said as she walked into her bedroom. "So, I have a proposition for you."

"I'm intrigued."

"I think it's time that we meet each other's friends."

"What makes you think I have friends?"

Annabeth checked her clock with a glance and exited the room, heading for the kitchen once more. "Everybody has friends."

She could practically feel his smirk radiating through the phone. "Okay, fine. When?"

"How about tomorrow night?"

"Perfect; I was gonna go out for drinks with Grover and Rachel anyway. And, by the way, you're supposed to go into my dad's office sometime next week to talk about the blueprints."

"Any day in specific?"

"Nah. Just whenever you can. He's flexible."

"Where should I meet you tomorrow?"

"The place we first met."

She smiled. "Okay. I'll see you then."

0000000000

Thalia Grace grinned when the phone rang. "Oh, Annabeth, you've been positively naughty."

"Don't say it like that, Thals. It sounds dirty."

"Well, are you getting dirty with him?"

"What? No, no, of course not! We only just started dating! Ugh, that's beside the point."

"So what is the point?"

"I want you and Nico to meet him tomorrow."

She examined her black nails and laughed. "Meet Percy Jackson? Are you kidding me?" Her expression went sober. "Wait, you're not kidding, are you?"

"No, I'm not."

She groaned. "Annabeth! The first and last time I met him was at a benefit and I was tipsy. I spilled my drink on him. It was in US Weekly the next day."

Annabeth giggled. "Relax, Thals. He probably doesn't even remember you. Maybe to him you'll just be the daughter of the man who owns Zeus Airlines."

"And the best friend of the girl whose pants he wants to get into."

"Can you make it or not?"

Thalia sighed. "If I have to."

"Thanks, Thals. You're the greatest."

"And don't you forget it."

**A/N: Hoping you all had a wonderful Christmas and got what you wanted! I got NCIS Seasons 6 and 7 on DVD, a Time Turner locket (yes like the Harry Potter thing), a Charlotte Russe gift card, and an iPod:) I'm currently in bliss.**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	8. The Weekend

When Percy slid onto a bar stool and signaled for three beers, he knew the night was going to be good. His best friends since middle school—they'd gone to a very upscale, private boarding school in Manhattan—were on either side of him. The daughter of a very, very rich and influential man, Rachel Elizabeth Dare, on his right, and the head of Green Life, a company that promoted eco-friendly living and produced many products that were environmentally conscious, Grover Underwood, on his left.

"So, why didn't you tell us you were dating Annabeth Chase?" Grover asked as he took a sip of his beer.

Percy shrugged. "Wanted to make sure it wasn't just a fleeing feeling first."

"And?"

"I actually care about her."

Grover lifted his beer in congratulations. "Mazeltov."

Rachel smirked. "That reminds me, Grover. How are things going with Juniper?"

He blushed slightly. "Um…fine."

"Wait, you mean Juniper like Dad's assistant, Juniper?"

Rachel nodded, lifting the bottle to her lips. "That's the one. He told me that he saw her a few weeks ago over in Central Park, ended up talking…and…"

"I was gonna tell you the next time I saw you," Grover muttered sheepishly to Percy. "It just kinda happened. One minute we were just talking and then she kissed me and then we went back to her place…"

"Don't need to hear all the details, man," Percy said, smiling. "You still seeing her?"

"Of course. I don't do one-night stands. I'm far too gentlemanly."

"Sure, sure."

"So when is this girl getting here, Perce?" Rachel asked, polishing off the last of her drink.

Percy turned towards the door. "Right now." He stood from his stool and walked over to a pretty blonde entering the room. She smiled up at him and introduced him to two people that were with her. He shook their hands and they began making their way back towards the bar.

"Annabeth, this is Grover Underwood and Rachel Dare."

"Nice to meet you," she said, shaking hands with both of them. "Um, these are my friends, Thalia Grace and Nico di Angelo."

Nico smirked at Rachel. "Well, hello there."

"Hiya."

"Can I buy you a drink?"

She flipped her red curls over her shoulder, smiling up at him. "Definitely."

Percy rolled his eyes and turned back to Thalia and Annabeth. "Hey, there, beautiful," he said to Annabeth, kissing her on the cheek. "You got those blueprints all ready to show my dad?"

"They'll be finished on Monday. But it's a Friday night and I want a glass of something very alcoholic."

Percy smirked. "What about you Thalia? Champagne?" He winked. "Assuming you don't spill."

She narrowed her eyes at Annabeth. "I told you he'd remember!"

"He's just teasing, Thals. Relax."

"Sorry, Thalia. But what can I get you girls?"

"Well…as long as you're buying… Hey, barkeep! Two apple martinis!"

Grover echoed Thalia's call with one for another beer.

An hour later, Rachel and Nico were dancing, Grover was being sent home in a cab, Thalia had left, and Percy and Annabeth were sitting in a booth in a corner, making out.

He settled his hand on her thigh and she sighed into his mouth, wrapping her arms around his neck. Percy broke away to kiss down the side of her neck, making her tremble in his arms. Her breath hitched when he kissed her collarbone, and then stopped when he nipped at the base of her throat.

"Oh, Percy…"

His hand slipped higher. Her hands started down his chest, his stomach...

He shivered. "Annabeth."

"Come home with me."

He looked up at her. "You're drunk."

"No, I'm not. Please, Percy."

He slid out of the booth and helped her out as well before walking towards the door. He hesitated.

"I'll follow you in my car, okay?" he said, kissing her on the top of her head.

She nodded. "Okay."

She left first and her stomach tightened into a knot the size of a basketball as her thoughts drifted towards the gutter…

0000000000

Sometime later that night, Annabeth rolled over to see a figure leaving her bed.

"Don't go," she whispered.

He turned around and smiled. "Hello, beautiful."

"Stay, please."

"It's nearly morning. I have to change."

Percy had to admit, she looked utterly adorable with half of her face smashed into her pillow, the sheet clenched tightly around her chest.

"I'll be back in two hours."

"Percy…"

He leaned over to kiss her shoulder and nuzzle her neck. "I promise. I'll be back to take you to breakfast. Go back to sleep and I'll be back when your alarm goes off."

Annabeth watched him pick up his clothes and dress in the dark. He kissed her again before closing the door behind him; she fell asleep almost immediately.

0000000000

When her alarm went off, he was sitting against her headboard.

She sat up and arched an eyebrow, squinting through the light coming in from her window. "How'd you get in?"

He held up a key. "I took it with me when I left. Figured you wouldn't need it for two hours."

She nodded slightly and settled into his chest. He put an arm around her.

"Where would you like to go to breakfast?" he asked.

"Don't ask yet. I'm not awake."

He chuckled and kissed the top of her head. "I'll go make you coffee."

"No, wait." She clutched at his shirt and they looked at each other. "Come here."

He slid down so he was lying next to her and she smiled at him, leaning in for a kiss. He grinned.

_What a morning._

0000000000

When they finally emerged from her bedroom—after a very memorable shower—they wandered to the kitchen and Percy, only in his boxers, opened her refrigerator.

"Jeez, Annabeth, what do you eat?"

She shrugged as she sat on a stool. She was wearing his shirt and her undies and her hair was a bunch of messy, wet curls. "I order out."

"And for breakfast?"

"Coffee and a muffin from the bakery downstairs."

He rolled his eyes. "You wanna see a perk of being me?"

"Sure, stud."

He rolled his eyes and wandered back to the bedroom for his cell phone. When he returned, he sat next to Annabeth at the counter and pressed speed dial. There was a pause, and then, "Yes, this is Perseus Jackson."

Pause.

"Yeah, can I get Eggs Benedict, a sausage, mushroom, and olive omelet, a carafe of orange juice…" He covered the phone with a hand and asked her what flavoring she liked in her coffee. When she answered, he relayed it back to the person at the other end. "And a basket of pastries."

Another pause.

"Yes, that's correct." He gave the person Annabeth's address and thanked them before hanging up.

"You can order breakfast?"

"From the head chef at Chandler's that happens to be madly in love with me, yes. He has his newest extern from the Institute of Culinary Education bring a platter to my place and I pay the kid a huge tip. They love me down there." He reached for her and she moved to sit in his lap. "I guessed on what you wanted."

"I'm so hungry that I'll eat anything right now. But thank you." She kissed the tip of his nose.

"Now… What do you say we go back to bed until breakfast gets here?" He captured her lips for one solid kiss.

"Hmm, nice try." She brushed her lips against his cheek and stood.

"But Annabeth," he whined. "You can't just walk around like this, looking like that, all…"

"All what?"

He cocked his head, giving her a once over. "You look perfect. Legs that go for miles, curls falling around your shoulders; and you're in my shirt. It's kind of difficult to not want you back in that bed right now."

She put her hand on his shoulder and squeezed. "I'm sure you'll survive, Percy."

"But really, do you wanna take the chance?"

She giggled and began to teasingly run back towards her bedroom but she made it about three steps before he grabbed her around her waist and they laughed, collapsing onto the floor in a tickle fight. When Annabeth screamed her surrender, Percy pinned her hands above her head with one of his. His other arm went around her waist.

"Let's not take the chance, Annabeth," he whispered huskily before lowering his mouth to hers.

0000000000

Annabeth was still reeling from her weekend when she entered the current Poseidon Enterprises building on Tuesday morning. With her roll of blueprints tucked in her arm, she rose to the correct floor in the elevator and exited, walking through the halls, past conference rooms and cubicles until she reached a space where two desks were positioned outside an office door.

One of the desks was empty; occupying the other was a girl. She stopped typing and looked up at Annabeth.

"Hello, how may I help you?"

"I'm Annabeth Chase. I'm here to see Mr.—"

"Yes, one moment, please." She walked over to the closed office door and knocked thrice before opening it. "Excuse me, sir, the architect is here."

"Send her in."

The girl held the door open and nodded at Annabeth, who slid inside the office. "Good morning, sir—"

"No need to be so professional, Miss Chase. Please, call me Poseidon."

She smiled. The man behind the desk had a sort of friendliness behind his eyes and was sitting casually. He didn't appear too uptight or pretentious, despite the Rolex on his wrist or the designer label on his suit jacket which was hanging behind his chair.

"Miss Chase, this is your new liason with our office," Poseidon said, gesturing to a seat in front of the desk.

Annabeth hadn't even noticed one of them was occupied. She looked at the man and her heart stopped.

"Annabeth," Luke said, standing and taking her hand. He raised it to his lips. "Nice to see you again. How long has it been?"

Her mouth was dry, her jaw slack, her heart hammering. "Um, a while. I didn't know you worked here."

"I didn't until a week ago."

"I take it you two know each other," Poseidon said amusedly.

"Kind of," Annabeth whispered before taking her hand back. "I have the blueprint, if you'd like to see it."

Poseidon nodded and Annabeth went around his desk, laying out the roll. She briefly explained the design and purpose of the overall building and Poseidon looked up at her.

"And how much is this masterpiece costing me, Miss Chase?"

"Less than the fixed price I believe you arranged with Per—Mr. Jackson." She blushed slightly, fidgeting as she realized her mistake.

Poseidon nodded again. "Wonderful. This looks perfect."

"Thank you."

"If you don't mind, I've given your work number to Mr. Castellan here so that he can set up a meeting if I deem it necessary."

She nodded, even though she did mind. A lot. "No problem."

"Goodbye, Miss Chase."

Luke held the door for her and followed her out to the desks. "I hope you didn't sleep with him yet, Annabeth."

"I know I'm going to regret this, but why?"

He leaned against his desk. "Because I know you. You only sleep with them when you're in love with them. And you shouldn't be falling in love with Percy Jackson."

She crossed her arms over her chest, wrinkling her blueprint. "Luke—"

"He's bad for you, Annabeth."

"And what are you?"

He shrugged. "I've changed. I regret what I did. And I miss you." He reached for her, wrapping an arm around her waist. "I miss you a lot."

She yanked her body out of his grasp and scowled at him.

"Annabeth, I know everything about you." He leaned in close to her. "Remember that night in your loft? When you had just closed that huge deal on the Vargo building? You were so excited. We had dinner, a little bit of wine… I told you that I loved you. And then I was your first."

Her hand came out of nowhere, slapping him across the face. "Burn in hell."

She stormed off, her high heels clicking against the floor. Luke looked across the room at Juniper, who was sitting behind her desk, staring at him.

He arched an eyebrow at her. "Yes?"

"Oh, nothing. I didn't hear a thing."

**A/N: I love this chapter so much :) I know I'm so incredibly modest, but writing this was just so much fun. I woke up late, ignored my parents' knocking, began writing and voila. Took me 45 minutes to get this out onto paper. Hope it doesn't show.**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	9. Not Quite Admitting

**A/N: It appears that I've become predictable. A few people guessed my evil plans for this chapter, but read for yourself and see… Don't forget to review:)**

Annabeth snuck out of Percy's loft early the next morning, leaving a note on the side table by his watch, explaining that she couldn't be late to work that she would call him later. Her visit to Percy's place had been, at first, to tell him about Luke, but then she chickened out. He had looked so happy to see her. He complimented her outfit, her hair, and her earrings, taken her out to dinner, and then invited her home with him. Why she had let herself say yes when she was so obviously upset about what Luke had told her earlier, she didn't know.

Was she really in love with Percy?

But she knew the answer the second she rolled over and saw him lying there. And then he had wrapped an arm around her in his sleep and her heart felt like it would burst. Yes. Yes, she did love him.

She shook those thoughts from her head as she made calls to building contractors and called in favors from a few friends. Her day was not going to be easy with all of these thoughts weighing heavy on her mind.

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Percy knew his life had turned upside down when he rolled over to find his bed empty. The clothes were gone from the floor and there was a note on the side table. It had happened before of course, with other women. They had jobs, lives, and so he normally rolled back over and returned to his sleep, but this time, Percy sat up and frowned at the note.

She'd left. And it felt like his heart had gone with her.

He had never before felt this kind of longing. He had made love to her last night; he had held her, kissed her. And she was gone in the morning. It felt like she had used him.

It was ridiculous to assume that that was the case, however. She was obviously just busy, but… But he couldn't shake the feeling that something was really, really wrong.

He tried not to think about it, and managed it for most of the morning, but it started all over again when Grover called him a few minutes after he'd ordered his lunch from the Chinese place down the street.

"Yeah, what's up, G-man?"

"Juniper told me something interesting this morning."

"Hmm, let me guess. She wants to get married and have tons of tiny Grover Juniors?"

"Perce, I'm serious."

"Alright, well you'd better tell her you don't want kids, unless you actually—"

"Percy! Listen."

Now worried, Percy sat down on his couch, waiting for Grover to continue.

"You know your dad's new assistant? Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"Well he had a chat with Annabeth when she came into the office yesterday and Juniper overheard it." Grover hesitated a moment. "You might wanna hear what he said."

"Go ahead."

"Apparently they used to date. He said that you were bad for her and that he misses her and did she remember…a certain night…"

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "And?"

"And she told him to burn in hell and slapped him."

He smirked. _That's my girl_. But was she? The sudden doubtful thought sent shocks through his system. "Okay, well, thanks for letting me know."

"Percy, I'm just warning you. Juniper said that Luke didn't seem like the type of guy to take no for an answer."

"I can handle him."

"But can you handle it if she chooses him?"

He wanted to be able to say yes. He really did. But…

"Perce?"

"I'll talk to later, man."

"Sorry, dude."

Percy hung up and stared at his phone. He should call her. He should ask about Luke. He should…

The doorbell rang in the middle of his thought. He shuffled to the door, mind caught up in other things. When he opened it, all he saw was a mess of blonde hair before she launched herself at him and into his arms.

"Well, hi there."

She buried her face in his chest. "We need to talk."

"Yeah, we do."

Annabeth looked up. "Okay… You wanna go first?"

"No, you go ahead."

She took his hand and pulled him down the hallway, into his bedroom. Despite his surprise, he didn't speak when she sat on the bed with him. "Something happened yesterday."

Percy put an arm around her, needing to be close to her. His heart felt like it might stop if he wasn't. "Okay."

She took a deep breath. "Your dad's new assistant, Luke, is my ex." She didn't look at him.

He didn't say anything, but grabbed her chin to force her to meet his eyes. He arched an eyebrow when they were face-to-face, silently urging her to continue.

"Um, he was a while ago, of course, but… Well, h-he's saying some stuff and I just want you to know that whatever he may say to you—"

He silenced her with his lips over hers. "I promise not to believe him," he muttered as his mouth trailed down her jaw to her neck.

Her fingers twisted into his shirt as he pressed her down against the mattress and continued his exploration. She sighed contentedly, but the sound seemed to wake up her senses. "Wait, Percy, wait." He lifted his mouth from its current position at the soft skin of her tummy—she hadn't even noticed that he had taken out her tucked-in blouse from her skirt and lifted it—and looked up.

"Something wrong?"

She raised herself onto her elbows. "I didn't come here to do this. I came here to tell you about Luke."

"What if I don't wanna hear about him?"

"Okay," she muttered, running her fingers through his hair. "But…also…I…"

He arched an eyebrow.

"Well, there was something that I've been thinking about lately, and it's kind of funny that what Luke said made me think of it, but then again I could've been thinking it already and then didn't really realize it and I suppose that I was, given what happened, and—"

"Annabeth."

"Yes?"

"Spit it out."

She turned slightly pink and opened her mouth, fully empowered to say the little words, but just as she managed to say "I," the doorbell rang. She sighed.

"Is there no end to interruptions today?" Percy muttered under his breath, helping Annabeth up. He kissed her forehead and walked back towards the front hallway and the door.

He paid the delivery guy at the door for his lunch and thanked him half-heartedly before wandering into his kitchen where he'd heard Annabeth go while he was at the door. She was sitting at the counter, watching him.

When he walked in, she stood. "I'd better go."

"No, stay. I always order too much anyway so I don't have to order the next day."

She gave a sad smile. "I have to get back to work."

"The world isn't going to fall apart if you take an hour to have Chinese food."

"It's gonna take an hour to eat?"

He grinned devilishly and set the food on the counter before pulling her close. "20 minutes to eat, 40 minutes for something else," he whispered huskily.

"But what will we do with the leftover half hour?"

He scowled. "Oh, we'll just see about that!" And with that he picked her up bridal style and walked towards the bedroom, all thoughts of Luke gone from his mind.

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Travis Stoll glanced at his brother. "Why exactly are we doing this?"

"Cuz we're thieves," Connor muttered. "And Luke is paying us."

"I don't see what the point is, though."

Connor glared at his older brother as if his moral compass had started pointing north, which was a ridiculous thought to entertain. "Um, how's 500 bucks?"

Travis shrugged, deciding to give up the argument for now and pulled his ski mask over his head.

The brothers made their way into the office building and exited with a file folder. Once in the car, Travis turned to his brother again and said, "But did he say why he wanted us to steal Athena and Co.'s recent ideas from Athena's office?"

**A/N: I just had to put in some Travis and Connor. I admittedly felt bad that they're basically bad guys, because I don't think of them like that, but they are sons of Hermes and are thieves and Luke couldn't risk going in himself in case he got caught! Or at least that's how I'm thinking of it. A lot of people have asked me about Raico action and I can say that if I see an opportunity, I will be putting it in, but otherwise, I can't promise that it's going to happen, although I do think that they're cute together.**

**Thank you all so much for the amazing reviews. BTW, the reason I'm updating so fast is because I'm on break and I have nothing better to do but write:)**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	10. Terribly Misunderstood

**A/N: An idea at the end was inspired by commercials for "Love and Other Drugs." No copyright infringement intended on that movie; it was just a cute idea. Plus I love Anne Hathaway. Amazing. Oh, and while I'm at it, I don't own PJO either because if I did, Percy and Annabeth would've made out ages ago.**

**Plus, please be aware that that scene might be more M than T, so…yeah. I certainly hope not, but it's entirely possible depending on how sensitive people are to that kind of thing.**

It was late morning, almost noon, when Percy padded into his bathroom to shower. Annabeth had left after lunch yesterday, promising to see him today, and so he planned to get all decked out for her and arrange a nice dinner where they could just relax. She'd been bustling around trying to get a lot of work done, and she would probably have to meet with Luke again soon.

As the hot water poured over him, he was too caught up in thoughts of Annabeth to hear the front door opening, a man stepping in, or the flop of a file folder as it landed on his couch. When he walked out of his loft twenty minutes later to go to his dad's office, he still didn't see it.

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Luke Castellan was having a great day. He was confident that the file folder was currently inside of Percy Jackson's apartment and that, eventually, Annabeth would see it there before Percy either had a chance to notice it or dispose of it.

And then she wouldn't listen to his explanation or his excuses and she'd be out of his life in a heartbeat.

His day only brightened further when Percy himself stepped into the office and scowled and Luke.

"Stay away from Annabeth," he said with a huff.

Luke arched an eyebrow. Juniper was currently away from her desk and Poseidon was in a conference down the hall. "Why?"

"Because she's not yours."

"She won't be yours much longer."

"Yeah? Well she's mine for now. So back the hell off, Castellan. She doesn't want you."

"She doesn't know what she wants."

"I think she does since she was with me yesterday afternoon."

"Now, now, Percy, let's not reduce Miss Chase to bedroom qualities."

"Did I say anything about it being in a bedroom?"

Luke smiled casually and Percy felt a little guilty about how he was talking about her. He felt even worse when Luke snapped back with this: "Yeah, that's true. Annabeth was never one for normal places…" He paused, still smiling. "Or positions."

"You-you—"

"Did she tell you about the rug burns she got once—?"

Percy hit him before he knew what he doing. Square in the jaw. When Luke snapped his face back to Percy and opened his mouth, Percy was already walking furiously back down the hall.

Luke grinned, rubbing his sore jaw. Wow. If that was all it took to make Percy mad then he was really in love with her. Perfect.

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There was non-stop knocking on his door. He stood from his couch in his entertainment room and walked through the long halls, rolling his eyes.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!"

He unlocked the door and opened it quickly. Annabeth stared up at him, a long trench coat pulled tight around her. He arched an eyebrow at her.

"It's like 90 degrees out," he muttered.

"Nice to see you too, Seaweed Brain."

"'Seaweed Brain'?"

"I just came up with it. 'Cause you have seaweed in your head."

"Ha ha."

She smiled and bit her lip. "So, um, can I come in?"

"Yeah, sure," he said, stepping aside and then closing the door behind her after she entered.

She turned to face him when she was at the couch. "I was thinking about you today."

"I was gonna call you. Ask if you wanted to go out to dinner."

"Hmm, I think it would be better if we stayed in."

"Oh?"

"Yeah." She squirmed and kicked off her purple flats. "See, I'm a little…underdressed." She accompanied the last word with the motion of letting the coat fall to the floor to reveal her in all of her glory.

Percy swallowed tightly. "Ah. Yeah, wouldn't want anybody getting a look at that."

"No. Definitely not."

He grinned. "I don't suppose you'd like to have a glass of wine first?"

"Not really." She took a step forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm a little tired from the day. Perhaps we could just go straight to bed."

Still with the silly grin on his face, Percy scooped her up and practically sprinted to his bedroom.

Somewhere in the night—she couldn't remember the exact moment because…well, her brain hadn't really been working quite right—she twisted her fingers in his hair and pulled him up for a kiss. After they had broken the contact of their lips, Annabeth couldn't stop the words from spilling out.

"I love you," she gasped, and immediately went back to kissing him.

He didn't respond.

0000000000

Annabeth had left the bed while Percy was still sleeping. In his shirt and a pair of clean black boxers she found in his drawer, she padded towards the kitchen. However, she froze when she saw a thick manila folder on his couch. What the…

She picked it up and noticed that the tab said, "Athena and Co."

Her heart seemed to stop for a moment. She was still staring at it when Percy walked in.

"Hey," he said, a smile in his voice. "What's that?"

"Why don't you tell me?" She must will her voice not to crack. She couldn't let him get to her. Not now. Not after everything. She held out the folder to him and, frowning, he took it, reading the tab. His jack went slack.

"Annabeth, I have no idea—"

"Oh, save it. I should've known this would happen. You and Luke—two of a kind." She picked up her coat and got the arms correct so she could slip it on. "And to think… I… I can't believe…" She would not cry. She would not cry. "Why would—?" She had to stop as her voice cracked. She pulled her flats on and refused to look him in the eye.

"Hey, wait, this isn't mine. I have no idea how this got here, Annabeth."

She brushed her messy hair to one of her neck and tied it up into a fast bun hurriedly, still not meeting his eyes. "Of course you don't. You've never seen it before in your life. It's all a big misunderstanding."

"Exactly!"

She spun, glaring at him, unshed tears pooling. "You're a liar and a fool, Percy Jackson. Don't ever talk to me again."

"Wait," he said, grabbed for her wrist as she turned towards the door again and managed to get her facing him again.

"No!" She yanked her arm out of his grasp. "You know what, Percy? I thought that for once in my life, a relationship was going well! I was falling in lo—" She closed her eyes. "And I thought you cared about me; I thought you were different." When she opened her eyes, a single tear trailed down her cheek. "I was wrong." She snatched the folder out of his hand and was gone in an instant, the door slamming behind her.

**A/N: (tear) So, once again, THANK YOU SO MUCH so reviewing. Love you guys:) Hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	11. Liquid Therapy

Annabeth, now fully dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, stormed into her mother's office, slamming a file on her desk. "Here," she said, a bitter taste in her mouth. "I found the missing file you were freaking out about yesterday."

Athena looked down at it and back at her daughter. "Thank you, dear. Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's peachy."

The older woman arched an eyebrow. "I sense that that is sarcasm."

"Mom, everything's okay. I just had a rough morning. I'll see you later."

She was half-way out the door when her mother called back to her. "Where did you find it?"

Annabeth paused. For whatever reason, she couldn't bring herself to say the words. Percy had stolen them for his father. She couldn't figure out how or why, but she felt manipulated, used, lied to, betrayed… And after she had told him that she loved him… Oh, that…that man was a string of four letter words.

"Annabeth?"

"Um, I guess I accidentally slipped it into my briefcase the other day along with my other things."

"Okay. See you later, dear."

Annabeth closed the door behind her and wandered back out of the building to her car. In a couple minutes she was at a tiny café. Positive thoughts absent, she went inside and looked around until she spotted him.

Luke smiled lazily, leaning back in his chair as she strolled over to his table.

"So, you showed."

"Only for a few minutes," Annabeth muttered, sitting. A waitress was at her side immediately and before she could insist that she wasn't staying, Luke told the woman that Annabeth would have a coke and a cheeseburger and then ordered the same for himself. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"What?" he asked.

"Nothing." She gnawed on her lip for a moment. "You were right about Percy. About him not being good for me."

Luke ran a hand through his hair. "I know."

"But, in all fairness, you weren't good for me either."

He shrugged. "Agree to disagree."

"Come on, Luke. We fought all the time."

"Only towards the end." He sat up straight, reaching across the table for her hand. "I've had time to think about what I did, Annabeth."

"That's nice," she said under her breath, trying to get her hand out of his.

"And I'm unimaginably sorry."

"It is certainly hard to imagine you being sorry."

Luke released her hand. "Annabeth. I want you back."

"Why?"

"Because I was wrong before. I do see a future between us. And I want it."

"You know what I want, Luke?" He made a gesture for her to continue. "You and Percy out of my life. Forever."

She passed by the waitress with their food on her way out.

Unfortunately, he managed to catch up with before she reached her car. He caught her arm and spun her around, forcing her back against her car door and her front against his. She was too stunned to push him away.

And when he kissed her, she closed her eyes tight and imagined Percy's lips.

0000000000

"So are you gonna see him again?" Nico asked his best friend, sipping his beer casually.

Annabeth shrugged. "He keeps leaving me messages. But I meant it when I told him I wanted him and Percy out of my life."

Nico looked skeptical, eyebrows high.

"What? You don't think I mean it?"

He looked unsure of what to say. "Well, I mean… It's been three weeks since you broke up with Percy. And he hasn't called you or texted you. And it's been two weeks since you admitted to Luke that you don't want to start seeing him, even though Percy isn't in the picture and he won't stop calling you. There seems to be something wrong going on in Romance Land."

"'Romance Land'?"

"Yeah," Nico said, nodding enthusiastically, most likely due to the fact that he was on his fourth beer of the night. "Romance Land. Like the world according to romance novels and romantic movies."

"Okay, no offense, Nico, but I think spending all that time with Rachel has destroyed some of your testosterone," she snorted. "How are things with her anyway?"

Nico grinned. "Awesome."

"Nice. One word answers." He rolled his eyes at her. "Look, it's just that… I'm not in love with Luke and he's not in love with me." She ran a hand through her loose curls, shrugging. "And while I'm in love with Percy, he's not in love with me. I'll get over it."

"But will you? Really?"

She opened her mouth to insist in the affirmative, but hesitated. And that told Nico the answer. Sighing, he put an arm around her.

"Okay, blondie. Time for shots."

0000000000

If this had been any other woman, he would've gone straight to his favorite club, picked up the first remotely attractive girl, danced with her, taken her home, and awoken to find her gone in the morning. In one night, he would've been half-way cured from heartbreak. But because this was Annabeth, he went straight to his favorite club, slid up to the bar and ordered a scotch.

It almost physically hurt, being the place where he'd first met her, the place where he had thrown his whole life into a hurricane of seemingly innocent fun only to surface from the waves with no heart. Because she'd taken it and wasn't letting go.

He was three scotches into his night when he heard a giggle followed by the slamming of a shot glass onto the wood of the bar. He smirked. Someone was having fun tonight. It occurred to him that he hadn't even wondered what she looked like and was surprised. Even though he knew there was no way anyone could be as pretty as Annabeth, he ducked his head towards the other end of the bar to look.

Wow, he must be either really drunk or he really missed Annabeth because the girl at the end of the bar looked just like her. And was that…?

Oh, crap. That was actually Annabeth. And Nico di Angelo was with her.

He should leave. She didn't want to see him there. He was not sober enough to face her. Yeah… He should definitely leave… So why was he walking towards her?

Her eyes widened when she saw him and she stood clumsily. Percy took a few seconds to look at her—she was wearing strappy high heels, black skinny jeans, and a white blouse with thick straps and black bows on the neckline. She bit her lip.

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

"Are you drunk?"

He shrugged. "Almost."

She giggled. "Well, I definitely am so maybe now's not the best time for a conversation." She swayed slightly and Nico held onto her waist, glaring at Percy. Annabeth seemed to sense it and she swatted Nico's chest. "Down, boy."

"Annabeth, I need to talk to you."

"You need to go to hell."

"I didn't steal that file."

"Oh?"

Percy glanced down at Nico. "Can I talk to her in private?"

"How many drinks have you had?"

"Three."

Nico looked up at Annabeth, who was staring at Percy in her drunken state as if he was a chocolate bar. When he looked back at Percy, he narrowed his eyes. "Don't do anything stupid."

Percy took Annabeth's hand and led her towards the back of the bar and out to the alley behind it. When the cool air of the night hit her, she sighed. He took off his suit jacket and put it over her shoulders.

"I miss you," she whispered, holding it around herself. It smelled like him.

"Yeah, I miss you, too."

"Did your dad ever get a copy of the file folder?"

Percy ran a hand through his hair. "Annabeth, I didn't steal it. I didn't pay someone to steal it for me. I didn't want anything to do with the competition between our parents. All I wanted was you."

"'Wanted.' As in used to, past tense."

He grabbed her shoulders. "Fine, then. All I want is you."

"I don't wanna hear this right now, Percy."

"But you need to. Annabeth, you told me that you loved me." He brushed a piece of hair behind her ear. "I just wanted to say that, well… I mean, I'm not really the type of guy that… That is to say, with you I've become… No, I mean—"

"Percy?"

He met her gaze.

She slowly took off his jacket and handed it back to him. "I don't think this is a good idea."

"B-but, Annabeth—"

She shook her head. "I believe you. That you didn't steal the file."

He grinned, but his happiness faded away when she continued.

"But I don't want you anymore," she said through gritted teeth. She was looking at the ground, at their feet. "I…I only said that I loved you because I was…caught up in the moment."

"Annabeth, I know that that isn't true."

"And so you're free to go. You don't have to deal with me anymore because I don't want you here." She looked up. "Just go, Percy. And don't come back."

**A/N: I got a whole bunch of reviews telling me that they shouldn't break up, but puh-leese, this is a classic romantic movie. The guy screws up, the girl thinks that she can never forgive him, and then he proves to her that he loves her by giving her this whole speech and voila, they're in love again. I think there's only two chapters left to go, btw.**

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! And a Happy Birthday Shout Out to:**

**Zoe on January 1****st****,**

**Daddy on January 3****rd****,**

**Arianna on January 4****th****,**

**And Simone on January 6****th****.**

**Love you guys!**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**


	12. Not Another Romance Novel

**A/N: I like my little narration thing in the middle… I pictured it as like the voice of the narrator in those movies… Like the Princess Bride or something… yeah, I'm tired. Read and Review, please!**

Annabeth couldn't believe she had let herself fall in love with him. She couldn't believe that he didn't love her back. She couldn't believe a lot of things. She was still wavering on whether or not he had actually stolen that damned file. And she didn't _know_ a lot of things. But she knew that Percy wasn't in love with her.

That was the problem. Percy wasn't the kind of guy to fall in love. And she was only letting her heart get broken by staying with him. Because what happened when a few weeks or months or even years from now when he looked at her and said he didn't feel anything for her anymore? That was why she had ended it. It wasn't the file, it wasn't their parents, but it was that she was sick of getting rejected, of getting her heart broken.

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Maybe this was how it was supposed to be. He was supposed to be alone, on a beach, staring out at the water and pretending not to notice how girls stared at him. He was supposed to not be chained down to one girl.

Right. This was the life.

And he would believe this lie for as long as he could get away with it.

0000000000

Nothing was right.

That was how it always was, wasn't it?

After the heroine and hero break up, nothing is right and they battle with their emotions until finally, one or the other makes a deep proclamation of never ending love and they fall into each other's arms and live happily ever after.

But because neither of the parties in this torn love affair was willing to admit that they were better off with the other, it seemed that this part of their romance was just too far away to contemplate.

So they went on like this for days; this turned into weeks, which turned into a month. It wasn't until they each got a little friendly guidance that they realized what they had been missing through their stubbornness…

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Rachel Elizabeth Dare sighed as she sipped her beer. Nico put a casual arm around his girlfriend and muttered, "When do you think they'll get here?"

Rachel shrugged. "Eventually. You called Annabeth?"

"Yeah. Jeez, she's been holed up in her apartment for a month. She won't stop talking about him but she refuses to call him. It's annoying."

"And Percy can't stop talking about her either. He barely leaves his place unless he's meeting Grover and me or going into work. It's miserable. At least we had the satisfaction of knowing Luke's gone though."

Nico arched an eyebrow. "Oh? What happened?"

"He came into the office the day after they broke up and knocked Luke out and fired him; Grover told me everything because Juniper saw the whole thing."

"Damn. And she keeps saying he's not in love with her."

Rachel rolled her eyes, taking another sip. "Oh, please. The boy is head over heels for her."

Nico shook his head, taking in this thought and glanced at the door as it opened. He kissed his girlfriend on the top of her head before winking and ducking behind a booth.

Percy sauntered over to his friend, not even noticing the dark haired man that had exited the scene seconds earlier. He ordered a scotch and they sat together, chatting nonchalantly.

He looked terrible; like he needed sleep or at least some makeup to hide the bags under his eyes. Rachel felt a tinge of sympathy for the boy but then decided that it was a wasted feeling because he was being a dumbass and she was going to make a point to tell him so, despite how sad he looked.

"So what am I doing here anyway, Rach?" he muttered, finishing his scotch with a gulp.

"Oh, just hanging out. You know… Haven't seen you in a while. And I guess—"

"Whoa, hey, Rachel!"

Percy turned around to face the deep voice that had made the interruption and saw Nico di Angelo standing next to… Oh.

Percy didn't even glance back at the two who were now embracing and talking animatedly. His eyes were caught on hers.

"Hi," Annabeth managed to say.

"Hi."

"Um, how've you been?"

Just as he was about to open his mouth, Rachel stepped in front of him and said very loudly and quickly, "He's been miserable. Absolutely miserable. Can't sleep, can't eat, can't do anything without thinking about you and he wants—"

"Rach!" Nico said loudly, cutting her off. "I thought you agreed to let Percy handle this one."

"He wasn't gonna say it," Rachel said, pouting slightly. "I was just trying to help."

Nico kissed the tip of her nose and pulled her close, making Percy and Annabeth step to the side so that they could continue the conversation that they hadn't even really been having.

There was a momentary silence as they watched each other. Finally, Annabeth said, "Is that true?"

"Um, well, I guess, I mean, there was kind of a rough, well this whole thing, and…" He sighed. "Yeah. I don't have to been a complete teenager about it." Appearing to be almost angry, he ran a hand through his hair and glared at his shoes. "I miss you and I hate that you ended it and it sucks and I just can't find the right words to say what I want to say."

Annabeth was silent until he looked up. "Just say it."

He tried, opening and closing his mouth for a few moments, taking on the appearance of a fish out of water. Finally, he closed his eyes, gritted his teeth, and whispered, "I don't want this to be a stupid romance novel."

He opened his eyes.

"I don't want to be scared of losing you every time I turn to a new chapter. I want you, Annabeth. I want you back. What Rachel said… She was right. I can't do anything real unless you're with me."

She didn't say anything in response. Instead, she just watched him.

"And there was that night, when you told me that you loved me and I believe that you actually meant it, Annabeth! I think…" He couldn't stop now. He couldn't choke. He was on a roll. He had to finish… "I think that you were just scared that I didn't feel the same way and had to tell me that lie so that you could make a clean break but there was nothing clean about it. And you were wrong."

Annabeth blinked. Waited. And waited. And waited. Blinked.

"I'm gonna try to refrain from being really sappy because I always hate it when they do that in those movies, but… But I have to say that… Oh, dammit, Annabeth! Why does everything have to be so hard with you?" Finally, he took her face in his hands, feeling his confidence grow when she didn't push him back, and whispered, "I'm in love with you."

**A/N: Heh. Heh. Cliffy. (Ducks to avoid arrows.)**

**WOW haven't updated in a while! So busy! Sorry, guys, but I hope this maybe kind of makes up for it! I'm aware that Nico and Rachel were kind of OOC, but that's how I needed them, so that's how they were! The next chapter will basically be all the wrapping up and everything. Pretty much basic epic fluff from here on out… And now, you can skip the rest unless you want to hear me rant….**

**Love,**

**E. M. Zeray**

**Dear Anonymous Reviewer who wrote, "I hated the end so screw you". I'd like you to know that I have absolutely no respect for you because you were too much of a coward to tell me with your login that you hated my story when it wasn't even over yet. You ASSumed which made you an ass. I'm very sorry that you found things wrong in my story but no story is perfect and I won't change the way I write to appease one person who obviously has something up their butt. So please, as a favor to all authors, next time you read a story you hate, don't be too cowardly to tell them because maybe they'll respond and ask you why or what was wrong with it or what can they do to make it better. You gave up every chance you had at me maybe being willing to listen to your criticism when you didn't sign your review. And, just so you know, this attitude will get you nowhere in life and I seriously hope you grow up a little bit before you decide to review again. And if you find offense in this response, you'll know how I felt when I read those seven words in my inbox. **


	13. Epilogue: Happily Ever After

**A/N: Okay, so, I can't even say how sorry I am for not updating. Writer's block just hit with a ton of bricks and I was on my ass for a few months. However, it's summer now (YAY!) and between band rehearsals, summer school, and flute lessons, I will be writing more! So, here it is. The very, very short epilogue… Hope you enjoy!**

And they all lived happily ever after…kind of.

Annabeth told him she loved him back—obviously! In fact her next words were "Of course I love you, you Seaweed Brain" before there was a lot of kissing—and they devised a plan to bring extreme pain and revenge upon Luke, the exact schematics of which are so top escret, they cannot be shared.

But our romance novel ends quite nicely.

Despite their parents' strife, Romeo and Jul—oops, sorry—Annabeth and Percy dated for quite a while. One day, Annabeth moved in. A few months later, Percy got down on one knee. Their wedding was in the Bahamas and two years later, they had a daughter with blonde hair and sea-green eyes.

-0-

"Honey, I'm home!" Annabeth called as she walked into the loft. She kissed the top of her daughter's head, which was bopping slightly to the music coming in through her headphones as she drew.

"Hey, Mom," she muttered.

Percy, who was sitting in his study, bounded out, scooping her into a hug. "Hello. How was your day?"

"Amazing. Hectic, but amazing." She kissed her husband chastely. "Anything interesting happen with you?"

"New battleships in high demand—Dad's happy."

"And you?"

Percy grinned, settling his hands on his wife's waist. "Me? I'm ecstatic. But not about that."

Annabeth arched an eyebrow.

"I got us reservations tonight."

"Percy—"

"You'll love it, I promise."

"I have work to do."

"Work can wait. Go put on something sexy." He took a second look at her skirt suit and her legs in hose heels. "Sorry—something sex_ier_."

Annabeth shoved him away playfully and glanced at their daughter. Pursing her lips, she looked over her shoulder at the drawing.

Percy, oblivious as always, said, "Oh, that's awesome!"

Celeste sat up straight, slapping the pad closed and blushing. "Dad!"

"What?"

"It's my art—and it's not done yet!" She shook her head as if this was the most obvious thing in the world and her father was an idiot. "I'm going to my room." She stomped away, her bedroom door slamming behind her.

"Oh, the joys of a 14 year old," he grumbled, turning back to his wife. Annabeth was grinning, staring at the hall Celeste had just disappeared down. "Annabeth?"

"Her drawing."

"Yeah, it was great."

"It was of a boy." She looked up, trying to make Percy understand. "A boy from school that I met when I picked her up last week. Percy, Celeste has a crush."

Percy suddenly looked ill. "Oh."

"Still ecstatic, Seaweed Brain?"

"As long as I get a name and background search, I think I'll survive."

"Don't worry, love. It's impossible for someone to be as clueless as you and I survive, so she'll be okay."

"Good."

Annabeth chuckled as she walked to their bedroom.

"Hey!"

**A/N: Thank you all so much for sticking with this story and all of the positive feedback. I love you all from the bottom of my heart. Just in case you guys wanted to see more of what my plans as far as writing go, I have made a Tumblr… Like, I seriously made it last night so I only have one post… :/ If you want to check it out, it's:**

**Mythoughtshavenooffswitch [dot] tumblr [dot] com**

**Again, thank you, thank you, thank you, and don't forget to review!**

**(If you like Glee, check out some of my Klaine fics!)**

**Love always,**

**E. M. Zeray**


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